Prediction: 150K Coronavirus-Related Deaths in Next Month

Health workers go back to work after after a break at La Fe hospital on March 25, 2020, in
JOSE JORDAN/AFP via Getty Images

A projection from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation indicates 150,000 coronavirus-related fatalities will occur over the next month, with the U.S. death toll exceeding 341,000 since the start of the pandemic.

The model predicts 150,000 additional fatalities in the next month, topping the 77,000-plus reported in the U.S. in the final month of 2020. Officials and public health experts have warned that the next month could be one of the worst in terms of cases and fatalities due to the individuals partaking in holiday gatherings in the last few weeks, including Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. All the while, the new strain of the virus hailing from the United Kingdom, which is reportedly more transmissible, has been detected in at least three U.S. states: Colorado, California, and Florida.

Overall, the model’s current projection estimates 567,195 coronavirus-related deaths by April 1, 2021.

This prediction coincides with President-elect Joe Biden’s (D) recent warning that “our darkest days” of battling the pandemic lie ahead.

“One thing I promise you, about my leadership during this crisis: I’m going tell it to you straight. I’m going tell you the truth, and here is the simple truth,” Biden said in a gloomy holiday message last month:

Joe Biden / YouTube

“Our darkest days in the battle against COVID are ahead of us, not behind us,” he continued. “So we need to prepare ourselves, to steel our spines, as frustrating as it is to hear. It’s going to take patience, persistence,  and determination to beat this virus.”

Pictures and videos out of Wuhan, China, showed revelers flocking to the streets to ring in the new year — a stark contrast to the scene in Times Square, which remained relatively lifeless. However, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) managed to dance with his wife in the plaza in virtual solitude as partygoers remained home because officials shut off the area to the general public.
The U.S. has reported 19,663,976 cases of the virus and 341,199 related deaths according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data last updated December 31.

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